


up the east coast / across the midwest

by villiageidiot



Series: HM500 Prompts [8]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Fluff, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Fluff, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 12:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30004725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/villiageidiot/pseuds/villiageidiot
Summary: Alec and Magnus take roadtrips. (This is shameless, plotless fluff. That’s it.)
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: HM500 Prompts [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2121645
Comments: 18
Kudos: 32
Collections: Hunter's Moon 500 Prompts





	1. up the east coast

**Author's Note:**

> HMDiscord 500 prompt: "Roadtrip” by Dream ft. PmBata

In Maryland, Magnus wants to stop by the boardwalk in Ocean City. Alec knows it’s probably a tacky tourist trap, but he can’t deny there’s something alluring about being a tourist with his husband. It’s so… _mundane_ , and sometimes he likes just being ordinary with Magnus, just two people in love holding hands as they weave through crowds. There’s nothing ordinary about Magnus, obviously, which is another thing Alec can’t deny he wants. He grasps Magnus’ hand and hopes it says, _This is mine. This life is mine. The way he looks at me is all mine_.

Magnus makes him try salt-water taffy, which sounds as unappetizing as it looks, but he ends up popping them in his mouth one after one. Later, he pushes Magnus against a wall on the side of a souvenir shop and licks into his mouth, tasting blueberry and orange and chocolate. They make love later, the scent of sea water and funnel cake wafting through the open window.

*

After a museum in Massachusetts, they sneak onto a private beach in Cape Cod. Alec’s never had any desire to go to a beach before, but there are a lot of things he never cared about until Magnus came along.

As they walk along the shore, Alec finds a few shells for his mom and some driftwood that reminds him of Clary, and creates a small pile of souvenirs on the towels they laid out on the sand. He finds himself absently collecting dried flowers and wordlessly hands them to Magnus, leaning over to follow up with a chaste kiss

Magnus smiles and accepts them. “Who knew you’d be such a romantic?” he asks.

 _Me_ , Alec thinks immediately. He knows how the world sees him, but he also knows he was always just waiting to meet someone who deserves the immensity of everything Alec has to offer.

*

They take a detour in New York so that Magnus can see the Botanical Gardens. Apparently, Magnus has never been, so Alec redlines it there. He seizes every possible opportunity to be one of Magnus’ firsts. He’s not sure if his husband knows his motive or if he just thinks Alec really wants to see some plants, but he’s pleased regardless, and it earns Alec a deep kiss outside of a highway rest stop.

The gardens are beautiful, but Alec barely tears his eyes away from Magnus, too busy admiring the way the famous cherry blossom trees merely serve as nothing but a backdrop to his husband. Later, when they sit near some hydrangeas with some cheese and crackers, he catches Magnus staring back. A thrill courses through Alec as he realizes he’s not the only one… _admiring_.

He tries to imprint it to his memory, all of it. The scent of the freshly-mowed grass, the sun blinding him, even the store-bought cheese. He wants to remember how their love tastes and smells and _feels_.

Alec inhales it all. He will never need anything more than just this moment.


	2. across the midwest

In West Virginia, Alec almost takes out a pedestrian or two. They drive through the Festival of Lights in Oglebay, six miles of lighted attractions, and Magnus feels Alec’s eyes on him for the majority of the fifty-minute drive. The lights are mesmerizing—over one million of them—and Magnus can’t help but be in awe of the dedication it must have taken to assemble the displays. _Without magic_.

Alec, however, isn't in awe of the lights at all. His gaze is elsewhere.

The second time Alec has to press a little too firmly on the brakes, Magnus raises a brow.

“Perhaps I should handle the driving,” he observes, eyes still fixed on the blinking snowman outside the van’s window.

“Probably,” Alec murmurs, eyes still fixed on his husband.

“Or,” Magnus counters, “You could keep your eyes on the road instead of on me.”

Alec shrugs. “Sounds overrated.”

Magnus finally looks over to meet his eyes and sees Alec waiting expectantly with a smile. He leans over the center console to give Magnus a brief kiss, and Magnus kisses back, despite his very valid concern that his husband might wipe out a display or two.

*

There’s a small coastal town in Wisconsin where they stay for two nights. Magnus buys small souvenirs in a handful of shops, gifts for everyone important to him. They stay in a secluded cabin and make love by the fireplace. It’s incredibly cliché but with Alec, Magnus never minds being a cliché. It’s a privilege, really, and everyone should be as fortunate. So few are, though, and Magnus never forgets how truly lucky he is to have someone like Alec Lightwood love him so unconditionally. It’s a powerful feeling.

There’s a state park designated solely for stargazing. They lie on the hood of the car on a blanket, legs tangled and fingers intertwined, staring at the stars while Alec tries to use an app on his phone to identify constellations. They end up making out on the blanket like damn teenagers, and it’s another cliché that Magnus cherishes.

*

They visit the Covered Bridge Capital in Indiana, and Magnus makes Alec stop for a picture under most of the thirty-one bridges. Alec grumbles but does it anyway, and it sometimes startles Magnus. He’s witnessed the Alec the rest of the world gets, and that Alec is not _this_. That Alec would probably allow Isabelle one selfie, sure, but he’d likely refuse anything after. Jace, parabatai or not, wouldn’t be able to evoke a _yes_ as effortlessly and consistently as Magnus seems to.

It’s a heady feeling, being the one person Alec loves with such devotion. Magnus knows there’s precious little he could ask for that Alec would deny him, and he strives to never abuse that privilege.

“I love you,” Magnus says quietly, the last of the covered bridges disappearing in the rearview mirror.

“I love you,” Alec says back, reaching for Magnus’ hand.

Magnus exhales. He will never need anything more than just this moment.


End file.
